A tenth of applicants still refused board approval by City watchdog

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THE Financial Services Authority (FSA) is still rejecting just under a tenth of applications for professionals seeking to become board members, new figures reveal.

Despite regular communication between the regulator and City firms, it appears that management teams are no closer to understanding what it is the FSA wants in its approval process for board-level appointees.

Data obtained by law firm McGrigors shows that the proportion of applications which have been “withdrawn” has remained steady for the last three years at nine per cent.

McGrigors partner Frank Doran explains: “It is fair to assume that a number of applications are only withdrawn after it becomes clear that the candidate has little chance of approval. Understandably, people would prefer to withdraw an application rather than have a refusal on their record.”